Peer reviewed independent study points to increased U.S. deaths since Fukushima

Peer reviewed independent study points to increased U.S. deaths since Fukushima
Monday, December 26, 2011 by: PF Louis

(NaturalNews) A recent article published in the December 2011 peer reviewed International Journal of Health Services (IJHS) examines the excess death rate reported by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) during the fourteen weeks after the Fukushima meltdowns.


The death rates reported from 122 USA cities with populations over 100,000 during the 14 weeks after Fukushima exceeded the deaths in 2010 during the same time period. The authors of the report point to this excess death data as a red flag to motivate further study. They have not established a direct link to excess deaths and Fukushima.


However, toxicologist Janette Sherman, MD, who co-authored the report did point out that most excess deaths were among those under age one. They are the most susceptible to radioactive isotopes. She explains that fetuses and newborns have cells that are multiplying rapidly without normal detox enzymes. Their immune systems are not yet developed. She also said that increased pneumonia related deaths among older people may bring the excess death number to 18,000.


Dr. Sherman has been involved with radioactive toxicology for decades. She was a contributing editor for Chernobyl - Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment and author of Chemical Exposure and Disease and Life's Delicate Balance: Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer.


Epidemiologist Joseph Mangano, MPH MBA also co-authored the peer reviewed report published in the December 2011 IJHS. MPH stands for Master of Public Health. Mr. Mangano has directed is the founder and director of the Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP).


Government agency reports don't match radioactive fallout danger reality


The RPHP has also created the "Tooth Fairy Project", which asks for parents to donate a baby tooth that has recently fallen away for strontium 90 analysis. Strontium 90 makes its way into bone matter. This type of approach is necessary because, according to both authors, government agencies aren't doing their jobs.


Shortly after the Fukushima meltdowns, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported high readings, hundreds of times beyond normal, of cesium 137, strontium 90, and iodine 137 radioactive isotopes in water supplies and milk in the United States. Though iodine isotopes have relatively short half-lives, the other two isotopes hang around much longer.


Yet, the media reported that the EPA claimed those readings were nothing to worry about. The EPA then changed their weekly reading to quarterly readings. It seems the standard for nothing to worry about is if you don't drop dead in a week, everything's fine. Both authors of this latest report, the first of its kind to be published in a peer reviewed journal, point to long term studies throughout the world.


Chenobyl's impact affected the long term health and reproduction rate of several species from bacteria to birds to humans. Increased still births, increased cancer rates, and decreased general health and intelligence were observed among many as far away from Chernobyl as Scandinavia. Yet the real effects were minimized or unpublished until recently.


When nuclear reactor plants closed down or families moved away from them throughout the world, family health conditions improved. Military personnel involved with the Nevada atomic bomb tests experienced increased cancer rates. Nuclear weapons factory workers are even receiving compensation from work related health problems.


Joseph Mangano created the RPHP to provide scientific data demonstrating why the human race should reconsider using nuclear power and not create new reactor plants while shutting down old ones.


This requires a privately funded group since the nuclear, military industrial complex, atomic energy commissions, and government agencies have had their way protecting the nuclear power industries regardless of human endangerment.


Sources for this article include:


http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/medical-journal-article--14000-us-deaths-tied-to-fukushima-reactor-disaster-fallout-135859288.html


The IJHS published RPHP Fukushima link to excess deaths actual report 
http://www.radiation.org/reading/pubs/HS42_1F.pdf


RPHP site for Tooth Fairy project(contains streaming radio interview of both authors) 
http://www.radiation.org

Hong Kong SAR Government steps up nuclear precautions

Government steps up nuclear precautions
BY ANDREA DENG
Mar 7 2012 
China Daily


The SAR government has taken further steps to improve contingency plans in the event of a nuclear accident at Daya Bay Nuclear Plant in Shenzhen.


Two more real-time radiation monitoring stations have been set up in Chek Lap Kok in the western part of Hong Kong and Cape D’Aguilar in the southern part, aside from the 10 existing stations.


The government also plans to purchase a number of mobile radiation detection apparatuses, which will be used at cross-border checkpoints in the event of a nuclear accident.


An independent website for Daya Bay Contingency Plan — www.dbcp.gov.hk — was launched on Tuesday, aiming to increase public knowledge about procedures during a nuclear emergency.


The website also updates information relating to Daya Bay, enhanced safety measures, and any natural disaster occurring near Hong Kong.



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Meanwhile, an exercise to simulate a nuclear accident will be held in the second quarter of this year, possibly in Tung Ping Chau — the nearest locale  to the Daya Bay.


But a scenario has yet to be designed in the attempt to best examine the capability of dealing with the emergency by various government departments, such as notification and alerting procedures of the Security Bureau, radiation monitoring and assessment by the Hong Kong Observatory and Water Supplies Department, communication with the public and handling of the panic, among many other aspects.


The latest steps, announced on Tuesday, come just ahead of the anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster started on March 3, 2011. The accident, at the same level as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami, aggravated by equipment failures inside the aging facility.


It eventually produced serious nuclear reactor meltdown and subsequent radioactive releases. Local officials say they are fully confident that the Daya Bay Nuclear Station has very little chance of suffering a calamity similar to the incidents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, or Chernobyl.


The Hong Kong government maintains that the facilities and equipment at Daya Bay are much more technically advanced and have a much lower chance of meltdown than the Fukushima No1 nuclear plant.


The environmental group Greenpeace, has expressed concern over possible handling of a nuclear incident by the SAR government. The NGO issued a brief report just a few days ago about how the Japanese government failed to address various problems that arose during last year’s emergency, due to the inadequate contingency plan that did not match the level of the disaster, adding there was insufficient preparation.


A government source from the Security Bureau said that the Fukushima case cannot be fully applied in Hong Kong, 
because crisis should be assessed case by case and require different handling accordingly. Officials, however, did read through Greenpeace’s report and accepted some of the views.

Nuclear power important to China's energy strategy: expert

Nuclear power important to China's energy strategy: expert
(Xinhua)
March 11, 2012   


HONG KONG, March 10 (Xinhua)-- Nuclear power remains important to China's energy development strategy because of its quest for clean energy and climate change mitigation, Ren Junsheng, nuclear safety expert commission of China's Ministry of Environment Protection, said Saturday.


During a speech entitled "One year after the Fukushima nuclear accident -- the way forward with safety and risk engineering" in City University of Hong Kong, Ren said after the devastating Fukushima accident, China conducted safety inspections of its nuclear plants, the scope of which included appropriateness of site selection, ability to withstand earthquakes and floods, robustness of measures to address various extreme natural events and effectiveness of monitoring and emergency preparedness.



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"The Chinese nuclear industry still feels confident to meet the installed capacity targets of 40 million and 70 million kilowatts by 2015 and 2020 respectively," he added.


Experts from Japan, Chinese mainland, China's Taiwan, France and the United States gathered in the university to share their insights on the Fukushima nuclear accident at the symposium jointly organized by the university's department of mechanical and biomedical engineering and the newly formed Hong Kong Nuclear Society.


Local and overseas experts agreed that the Fukushima accident had sparked off a global debate on how the world can meet growing demand and the role of nuclear energy. They pointed out that as the governments and regulators of nuclear nations are responding to public concerns about nuclear safety, whether the issue can be adequately addressed depends on how they act and what measures they take.